Can I drive 5 miles to walk in the woods?

[R2221]

Just that really. We’ve been isolating for over a week and these woods are the only thing that kept us sane. Isolated woods - not many people there. Those we came across were mindful of distance.

With the current lockdown rules, are we allowed to drive there?

I'm not sure OP. We are definitely allowed to go out once each day to exercise. I'd assumed this would be to walk from our front door, but if you live in the middle of a town it is probably safer to drive somewhere. Not sure if that's an unnecessary journey though.

I think it's a fair question though.

Why do posters insist on saying that people must stay within their own homes when advice is quite clear that you can leave the house for exercise once per day. And most saying it very rudely as well.

If you're not shocked by that mental image then there is something wrong with you

Everyone in the countryside drives everywhere. That mental imsge is my normal day.

Is it OK to drive to the supermarket? To the pharmacy?

Imagine tomorrow everybody decides to get in their car and drive somewhere else to do their exercise.

Imagine instead they all do their exercise outside their house. In this village we'd have 1500 people all out in the streets in a small location. THAT sounds terrifying and dangerous to me.

@blubellsarebells Personally i wouldnt because im not driving anywhere except to my ds dads house twice a week.

Rewatched the speech because I'm in the same position. Boris did actually spell this out, though (I caught it on the second watch)

No contact with family members who do not live with you

I'm keeping custody of my kids for the foreseeable. Unless something comes out to say that custody changeovers are allowed I would make arrangements to do the same. They're already clamping down on it on the continent.

If your car breaks down?

If I'm going to be putting my life on the line every single day to sell fucking fags to people who need 40 Richmond Blue on a daily basis, then I'm bloody well going for my daily five mile run with the dog down our deserted country lanes. If I don't stay fit my chances of surviving CV-19 are remote. And I'm prepared to argue my case...

What happens if you have a bump?
Or a serious crash?
Or your car breaks down?
Or a fall?

Well to be fair that could happen on a drive to the supermarket to buy essentials.

Fuck me. Nothing like community spirt. Just a load of ‘I’m more self righteous than you.’

So a drive to a mountain is no.
The National Trust walks are shut.
The playgrounds are shut.
Your told to stay home.
But your special and so can go out.

I will. I want to walk in the woods and I will drive to get there.

BeardedMum. Brief but entitled. I will, I want to, I will. The very epitome of the reason we need a complete lockdown. Because still the thick and the selfish, or maybe both, will do what they want to regardless. 🙄

This is why exercise is not included as a reason for going out in Spain. It is not essential to go out to exercise, so allowing it waters down the lockdown.

City centres are probably quieter.

No she’s not special, the whole nation was told they could go out for daily exercise.

Your told to stay home. But your special and so can go out

But that's not what was said. What was said is that you can go out once a day for exercise. No one has to be special to go out - they just need to do it once and for exercise.

She's as special as all of us. We can all drive somewhere isolated for a walk if we want.

Why are people always looking for a way out? We are trying to fight a virus - it is killing people. The longer people do not follow the rules because they are special for some reason the longer this will go on for and the stronger it will be policed. STAY AT HOME!!

You can walk there.

@nicenewdusters she's going for a walk along woodland paths not up Sharp Edge. Don't be silly .

How does walking in a deserted wood translate as popping out for biscuits?We do one shop a week and have banned the kids from the local shop.

It translates because people think that "you are only allowed to leave your house for food" translates to "Well, biscuits are food. I'll go out to get some biscuits. I'm so bloody clever because no one else will have thought of this and technically it's not against the letter of the law, even though it blatantly disregards the spirit"

That translates almost exactly to:

"STAY HOME. The only exception is for one form of exercise a day" and turning that into "exercise. hmmmm. I'm going to pack the car up, put all my kids in, drive miles away and go for a walk. A day-trip! I can do this every day. No one else will have thought of this. Aren't I clever. I know the car park is full but I'm the exception. Technically the gov specifically say I couldn't so it's allowed"

I'll repeat the key point of my post which is imagine everyone did this.

Oh wait, we don't need to imagine it because a lot of people already did it this weekend!! Which ended up in lockdown.

How would you feel if someone died of an indirect consequence of your actions?

Honestly, it's clear as day that a large proportion of people just do not care. They probably wouldn't be comfortable admitting it but they don't give a damn.

Thick and selfish. Thick, because they're too dim to realise that their actions contribute to making the world a shiter place for them and their precious spawn - because the longer nobody cooperates, the worse things will be across every part of the infrastructure of society for longer and for everyone. They will not be immune to the wider consequences of their behaviour, they just act like they will be.

They'll be the ones slack jawed with surprise and complaining when Little Johnny has to go back to school eventually in a class of 50 because we have lost teachers. They'll be the ones bleating their annoyance when it is harder to access routine medical care because we have lost healthcare professionals.

They'll whine and whine and won't recognise their selfish entitled behaviour made the whole fucking mess worse.

The longer people do not follow the rules

The OP IS following the rules.

I think it's fine. No different than going for a walk round your area, probably better if it's isolated.

All the people saying no, what are u doing for your daily exercise?

no, walk in your local area

GiantRedPanda what on Earth is going to happen to somebody strolling in a wood to require ICU (and coastguard/mountain rescue as somebody else mentioned upthread).

I hope you have moved your bed into your living room, because what if you fell down the stairs one day? And are you knocking grapes out of people’s hands in supermarkets because the selfish bastards could choke on them and need CPR? Do you lecture people drinking smoothies, because what if their hand had slipped into the blender while they were making it and they’d blended their hand off? How many NHS resources would that use?

Honestly, we can go through every Casualty opening scene from the past thirty years if you want to, but a stroll in an empty woodland is not likely to end in hospitalisation, or even a twisted ankle.